These are stories about offshore dolphin research
Notes from the Lab and Field In September, we were once again over the West Florida Shelf tagging dolphins. This one, an Atlantic spotted dolphin nicknamed “Patty,” was seen the next day with a somewhat smaller dolphin that was acting like it might be her calf. In May 2022, we initiated
TADpole Breaks New Ground in Spinner Dolphin Studies During field work in O'ahu, Hawaii in earlier this summer (2025), SDRP collaborated with Robin Baird of Cascadia Research Collective to deploy satellite-linked tags on spinner dolphins. This was the first time this species has been tracked with satellite-linked tags — a feat made
What do TADpoles have to do with dolphins? Development of a remote Tag Attachment Device The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program has acted as a testbed for the development of many innovative methods to study marine mammals. Since 1975, Sarasota Bay has been used extensively for testing electronic tags, including radio-tags and
Dolphins Tagged Off the West Florida Shelf We were able to sneak in a day of offshore field work between fronts the week of Dec. 18, 2024. We tagged two Atlantic spotted dolphins off the central west coast of Florida as part of our ongoing testing of our pole-mounted Tag Attachment Device
June 2024 Offshore Dolphin Research Update Since 2022, we’ve been conducting health assessments of offshore dolphins to gather data needed to address critical information gaps for the little-known species that regularly inhabit west Florida’s continental shelf waters. In May 2024, we conducted the final field session of our Florida RESTORE Act Centers of
High-resolution data-loggers reveal fine-scale movement and foraging behavior of offshore dolphins “Bill,” an Atlantic spotted dolphin, with a satellite-linked tag on his dorsal fin and DTAG on his back upon release in September 2022. During offshore health assessments in September 2022, we deployed digital-acoustic archival tags (DTAGs) via suction cups on
This Atlantic spotted dolphin nicknamed Hannah was tagged 45 miles offshore of Sarasota using a new tool we developed. New Tagging Technique Developed in Sarasota Could Impact Dolphins Worldwide If you’ve been following our research, you probably know that we employ a variety of techniques to study the Sarasota Bay dolphin
On May 17-18, 2023, we tagged and collected biological samples from two bottlenose and two Atlantic spotted dolphins 25-38 miles offshore of Sarasota during the third of four planned offshore health assessment and tagging sessions supported by a grant from the Florida RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence Program. All four dolphins received suction-cup-mounted
We’ve got some exciting news to share about our ongoing efforts to conduct health assessments of offshore dolphins: In September, we were able to conduct assessments and tag four dolphins over the West Florida Shelf. The SDRP is leading this project, which involves a multi-institution team funded by the Florida RESTORE Act Centers of
